Sunday, 31 March 2013
The Fighter
The Fighter:
The name "Fighter" is really godsdamned unspecific. The iron truth is that few fighters would simply call themselves such, they are sellswords, knights, killers, heroes and brutes. A Fighter is one who trusts in cold steel over faith, over primal instinct, over stealth, over anything else. Fighters have no magical or mystical abilities and they don't need them. They may wield magical weapons, but the real metal is in their hearts and it is their skill that marks them as deadly. Even a fighter beginning their heroic journey is already probably a veteran of at least one brutal, bloody campaign, who has killed at least one other in combat.
Whether they embrace their destiny as killers or resist it, whether they restrict their deadly skill to the wicked or slaughter as their twisted hearts desire, Fighters are killers. Killing is their business, and business is booming.
Hit Dice: d10
Attack Bonus: As Fighter (+1 per round)
Experience: As Fighter
Skills: Fighters possess a diverse set of skills depending on their individual backgrounds, but should always be assumed to be able to swim, maintain any armaments or gear they use, basic riding skills.
Armour: Fighters can use any armour they damn well like. They trust in iron, not magic.
Weapons: Fighters can use any weapons they please. The whole thing about a Fighter is their ability to fight and arbitrary weapons restrictions are stupid. If a bow is what they need to kill yon barbarian, they'll shoot an arrow in that motherfucker's eye.
First Kill: All Fighters have killed at least one foe in a combat situation. This is an official rules requirement. The player should come up with a relatively specific story of how it happened, and if a situation should ever closely match that first kill, a Fighter's instincts grant them a +1 bonus to attack, damage and saving throws in that specific situation, ie, a drunken brawl with a chair leg. GMs should make this happen occasionally.
Weapon Specialization: At 1st level, Fighters choose a particular weapon type (ie, bows, heavy blades, polearms) with which they are especially skilled with, gaining a +1 bonus to attack and damage with these weapons. At 6th, 11th and 16th levels, this bonus increases by +1.
Combat Dominance: At 2nd level, Fighters gain a second melee attack against opponents of 1 HD or less. At 5th level, this increases to foes of 2 HD, 3 HD at 8th level, 4 HD at 11th level and so on. This ability stacks with the Fighter's extra attack they gain at 8th level.
Extra Attack: At 8th level, Fighters can make a second attack (either melee or ranged) against any opponent, because sometimes there's just a pesky bastard that need to die.
Stronghold: At 9th level, a Fighter will automatically attract warriors as followers, including 1d6 1st level fighter underlings and d6 non-combat underlings (sexy lover, helpful servants) as they or their GM determine.
Friday, 22 March 2013
The Barbarian
Who is the Barbarian, other than the most awesome motherfucker you can possibly be? Let's begin, perhaps, with what the Barbarian is not. The Barbarian is not a mindless machine of war- while they're rarely educated per se, the greatest barbarians are cunning warlords, not mere brutes. Conan relied almost as much on his guile as his strength and neither Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan would have gone very far without their primal charisma. A barbarian is a product of a brutal and harsh environment, someone who has learned to rely on themselves first and foremost, who has a healthy disdain for civilization, even if they may enjoy certain of its benefits (steady work, liquor, brothels).
The Barbarian:
Hit Dice: d12
Attack Bonus: As Fighter
Experience: As Fighter
Skills: All Barbarians are skilled at foraging for themselves and orienting themselves in natural environments. The skills of individual Barbarians may depend by tribe.
Armour: Barbarians can generally only wear light armours such as leather, studded leather or hide.
Weapons: Any melee or thrown weapons. True barbarians generally eschew missile weapons, save for those tribes that specialize in mounted archery.
Cleave: Any time a Barbarian fells an opponent in combat, they can immediately make a melee attack against another adjacent enemy.
Primal Might: Barbarians know how to conserve their strength and can release it in shocking bursts of energy and might that shock enemies. Once per day per level, a Barbarian can take a+4 bonus on a Str, Dex or Constitution related check or saving throw.
Primal Endurance: At 5th level, a Barbarian has enough mastery of themselves that they can call upon their final reserves of might and instead of falling unconscious at 0 hit points, remain standing and fighting until reduced to -10, at which point they die like anyone else.
Stronghold: At 9th level, a Barbarian will automatically attract barbarian followers, who will serve the Barbarian as long as they prove a successful and capable combat leader. The barbarian can rely on d6 1st level barbarian underlings and d6 non-combat underlings (slaves, concubines) as they or the GM determine.
Call to War: At 12th level, a Barbarian can call together followers for a specific purpose, either bondsmen or close allies and grant upon them the benefits of an additional hit dice (+1 to attack, saves, bonus to HP, but not other benefits of gaining a level) for a period of one week or until a specific task is completed. The Barbarian can give this benefit to up to one individual per level.
The Barbarian:
Hit Dice: d12
Attack Bonus: As Fighter
Experience: As Fighter
Skills: All Barbarians are skilled at foraging for themselves and orienting themselves in natural environments. The skills of individual Barbarians may depend by tribe.
Armour: Barbarians can generally only wear light armours such as leather, studded leather or hide.
Weapons: Any melee or thrown weapons. True barbarians generally eschew missile weapons, save for those tribes that specialize in mounted archery.
Cleave: Any time a Barbarian fells an opponent in combat, they can immediately make a melee attack against another adjacent enemy.
Primal Might: Barbarians know how to conserve their strength and can release it in shocking bursts of energy and might that shock enemies. Once per day per level, a Barbarian can take a+4 bonus on a Str, Dex or Constitution related check or saving throw.
Primal Endurance: At 5th level, a Barbarian has enough mastery of themselves that they can call upon their final reserves of might and instead of falling unconscious at 0 hit points, remain standing and fighting until reduced to -10, at which point they die like anyone else.
Stronghold: At 9th level, a Barbarian will automatically attract barbarian followers, who will serve the Barbarian as long as they prove a successful and capable combat leader. The barbarian can rely on d6 1st level barbarian underlings and d6 non-combat underlings (slaves, concubines) as they or the GM determine.
Call to War: At 12th level, a Barbarian can call together followers for a specific purpose, either bondsmen or close allies and grant upon them the benefits of an additional hit dice (+1 to attack, saves, bonus to HP, but not other benefits of gaining a level) for a period of one week or until a specific task is completed. The Barbarian can give this benefit to up to one individual per level.
Some Rules For Being Drunk Off Your Ass (Because Being Drunk Is Metal)
Adventurers are expected to be a hard-drinking, hard-partying lot, because how else would a bunch of glorious bastards get their R&R on after a long adventure killing awesome monsters and stealing treasure? With lusty wenches and alluring whores (of either gender, let's not discriminate amongst brothers and sisters in steel here) of course, but also with copious quantities of booze. Beer and ale are the most natural beverages, but sometimes you want to be classy and have some wine, or try one of those new and really powerful distilled beverages.
The number of drinks you can have before it has mechanical effects are 2 + your Constitution modifier. If you're kind of a weakling and have a negative modifier, well, guess what, you can't hold shit. If you're a dwarf, half-orc or barbarian of any race, that two drinks is now four. You can make a Constitution save against poison to stop the effects of alcohol, but each drink after you start making saves makes for an additional -2 to the save.
First drink: -1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Dexterity. +1 to Strength, Constitution and Charisma. Arguably positive.
Second drink: -2 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Dexterity. +2 to Strength, Constitution and +1 to Charisma. Worthwhile tradeoff for some.
Third Drink: -3 to Int, Wis, Dex. +2 to Str, Con. 20% chance of confusion as spell effect.
Fourth Drink: -4 to Int, Wis, Dex. +2 to Str, Con. 40% chance of confusion as spell effect.
Fifth Drink: -5 to Int, Wis, Dex. +2 to Str, Con. 40% chance of confusion as spell effect. Con save to avoid passing out.
Sixth Drink: -5 to Int, Wis, Dex. +1 to Str, Con. 40% chance of confusion as spell effect. Con save at -2 to avoid passing out.
Subsequent Drinks: Str and Con go to +0. Penalty to saves to avoid passing out increase by -2. After the ninth drink, people who pass out must make a Con save against death. Every subsequent drink inflicts a -2 penalty to that save.
Dying in your own puke might not be very heroic, but it is pretty metal. Ask Bon Scott.
Monday, 18 March 2013
A Sample Monster (That Is Totally Fucking Metal)
Erinyes: (LE Evil Outsider)
HD: 9+9
Armour: 19
Move: 30', fly 90'
Attack: 2x Weapon +4 (poison, paralysis for 1d4 hours)
Saving Throw: (Fort/Reflex/Will) 10/6/8
Special Abilities: Covenant of Destruction, Hair Rope, Immunity (charm, fear, fire, poison), Shape Weapon
Spells: (at will) Fear, Hold Monster, Teleport Without Error, (once a day) Summon (50%, 1 erinyes)
Intelligence: Superior
Treasure: +1 magical weapon
The Erinyes are the enforcers of Hell's will, fallen angels sent screaming back into the world to track down those who attempt to renege on oaths sworn in the name of their fell masters, of those who pledge their souls but attempt to win them back. They are strong, possessing the equivalent of 18 Strength. They take the form of beautiful but terrible men and women and usually forgo all clothing , save for elaborate scars marking their previous victims as well as the inevitable gore that accompanies their dark deeds.
They have the ability to mark one soul as their chosen quarry, invoking a Covenent of Destruction, being able to track that soul across planes if need be, gaining the ability to plane shift as needed to reach their target. They wield ropes made out of their own hair which entangle foes, either to simply bind them or lift them aloft to their deaths. An erinyes can transform any enchanted weapon into any other variety of enchanted weapon, but generally favor bows and longswords. Their paralytic poison stops movement, but does not prevent sensation, allowing them to draw out the deaths of their charges as they please.
An Erinyes is vicious but cunning as well and can occasionally be bargained with, particularly if there is the promise of more slaughter to be had.
HD: 9+9
Armour: 19
Move: 30', fly 90'
Attack: 2x Weapon +4 (poison, paralysis for 1d4 hours)
Saving Throw: (Fort/Reflex/Will) 10/6/8
Special Abilities: Covenant of Destruction, Hair Rope, Immunity (charm, fear, fire, poison), Shape Weapon
Spells: (at will) Fear, Hold Monster, Teleport Without Error, (once a day) Summon (50%, 1 erinyes)
Intelligence: Superior
Treasure: +1 magical weapon
The Erinyes are the enforcers of Hell's will, fallen angels sent screaming back into the world to track down those who attempt to renege on oaths sworn in the name of their fell masters, of those who pledge their souls but attempt to win them back. They are strong, possessing the equivalent of 18 Strength. They take the form of beautiful but terrible men and women and usually forgo all clothing , save for elaborate scars marking their previous victims as well as the inevitable gore that accompanies their dark deeds.
They have the ability to mark one soul as their chosen quarry, invoking a Covenent of Destruction, being able to track that soul across planes if need be, gaining the ability to plane shift as needed to reach their target. They wield ropes made out of their own hair which entangle foes, either to simply bind them or lift them aloft to their deaths. An erinyes can transform any enchanted weapon into any other variety of enchanted weapon, but generally favor bows and longswords. Their paralytic poison stops movement, but does not prevent sensation, allowing them to draw out the deaths of their charges as they please.
An Erinyes is vicious but cunning as well and can occasionally be bargained with, particularly if there is the promise of more slaughter to be had.
Some Totally Random Rad Rules To Make Things More Metal
Some Totally Random Rad Rules To Make Things More Metal:
Cry Havoc and Let Loose the Dogs of War:
Come up with a decent battle cry spontaneously and you get a +1 bonus to attack rolls and saves against fear and morale loss for 1d4 rounds after that. Only one person in a party may get this bonus in a given combat, with the GM deciding who has the most awesome battle cry.
Describe Your Own Kill/Death:
Last Breath:
If you are reduced to between 0 and -10 hit points and you have a Constitution higher than 10, you can elect to make a final attack or offensive-based spell before you pass into unconsciousness, but get a -2 penalty to Constitution saves to stabilize if you do.
Loincloth Rule:
A barbarian, ranger, berserker or other totally awesome badass who decides to forgo all protective armour in favor of some tribal tattoos, loincloth or some other totally non-functional clothing, gains a +3 bonus to their armour class due to their intimidating awesomeness. They do, however, sustain 1 extra damage for every five HP of damage that would have been inflicted on them, rounding down. Because while they are totally metal, that is pretty dangerous, dude. Note that even with women, this cannot be assumed to be primarily a function of sexiness. It's a combination of relying on your awesome-as-shit reflexes really heavily and the natural fear effect upon enemies of your clearly not giving a fuck.
Shield Rules:
If a character who is using a shield chooses it, they can allow their shield to take the brunt of a blow, shattering instantly. The maximum amount of damage a shield can absorb is equal to 10x its armour class bonus. (Adapted from trollsmyth.ca. Trollsmyth could totally be a metal band.)
If you are using a shield, you can choose to use it to bash an opponent instead of using your main weapon. A light shield inflicts 1d2 damage and has a chance to knock an enemy back 5 feet. A heavy shield inflicts 1d4 damage and can knock an enemy down entirely.
Sundering:
If you have a giant-ass (two-handed) weapon of any sort, you may attempt to sunder an opponents weapon or armour. This attack does not inflict any damage, but if it is successful, any non-magical weapon will be shattered. If directed against armour, armour degrades by 1d4+1 if there is hard armour or a carapace to crack. Armour can only be sundered once.
Two-Weapon Fighting:
If you are a total badass and want to fight with two weapons, they need to be light weapons, doing no more than d6 damage, because bigger weapons are clunky. You make one attack roll with these weapons, but you get to roll twice for damage, and take the better result.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Player Races in Metal & Monsters
The list of playable races will be the same as is standard in D&D, except that all of the races will get a slight makeover to make them more metal.
Humans are whatever you make of them and admittedly, most humans are not all that impressive, being dirty, diseased peasants or underpaid city folk. But some humans manage to rise above the herd and mark themselves out by their epic, bloody conquests and heroic accomplishments. Driven by an unusually short lifespan, they accomplish as much in a few mere decades as many other races would in the same number of centuries. Humans are marked by a primal urge to expand and conquer.
Humans can be any player class. Once per day a human character can reroll any fucking roll they want, because they are just that driven. Human characters also receive a free boon decided between the Metal Lord and the players, roughly equivalent to one of those feats in 3/3.5 D&D or the Pathfinder RPG. They get a +2 bonus to any one attribute they goddamn want.
Half-Elves happen when a human fucks an elf, or vice versa. One could write a lot about their intercultural angst, but instead we will talk about how they are all somehow, oddly, more attractive than either humans or elves on their own and how they can either choose to follow the path of jaded, cynical lords of magic or driven, ambitious motherfuckers on the make. Either way, they will be pretty goddamn metal.
The thing about Half-Elves is that they are not just pretty, but tend to be natural leaders, having their foot in both cultures, they tend to have a pretty sharp grasp of psychology. They can be any class they please. Half-Elves get a +2 bonus to any efforts to negotiate with or lie to anyone. Like an elf, they can see in twilight conditions, though they cannot detect magical objects with their eyeballs. They get a +2 to any attribute they please. They can choose one of the other racial abilities of an elf.
Half-Orcs need little explanation but what you need to know is that it is difficult to imagine any creature being more metal than a fucking half-orc. Combining the brutal power of a motherfucking orc with the intelligence and ambition of a human? You might as well tattoo "FUTURE WARLORD" on the forehead of every half-orc, because you know if that fucker survives to adulthood, that is exactly what he or she is going to be. Well not exactly, but they're pretty damn good at it.
Half-Orcs can be any class, though it's rare to see them be Mages, Monks or Paladins, due ot the uncompromising moral and disciplinary demands of those positions. Half-Orcs get a +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution, but take a -2 penalty to Charisma. They can see in the dark like an orc can, and they gain a +3 bonus against fear and poison, and also the same bonus to try and scare the living shit out of someone. They are straight-up immune to all non-magical diseases and inflict +1 damage when fighting unarmed.
Dwarves need no fucking help but be made metal, because seriously, what is more metal than a fucking Dwarf? Nothing. That's what. The Dwarves have been forced to become so fucking metal, because if they weren't, they'd be extinct, because their mountain homes are perilously close to all sorts of horrible monsters. If you are an adult Dwarf, you are fighting or you are provisioning the troops. Most Dwarves do both.
Dwarves cannot be Mages or Witches, because they believe arcane magic is fucked and evil, a tool of the demons to warp and destroy mortals. They're so goddamn certain of this that they get a +3 bonus against magic. They're also tough as shit and basically fucking fearless, so they get that same bonus against fear and poison. Dwarves all learn how to use axes and hammers and are universally proficient in them. They can straight-up see in absolute darkness and know exactly how far they are underground and in which direction they are going. They can sense all sorts of shit dealing with stonework and being underground, like unstable architecture, traps, secret doors, etc. They hate all goblinoid and giant-type monsters so fucking much they get a +1 bonus to attack against them. They get a +2 bonus to Constitution and Wisdom, but a -2 to Dexterity.
Elves are usually thought of as being sort of willowy hippies. Not here. What the Elves are is an immeasurably ancient and arrogant race which once ruled the world and firmly believe they should continue doing so, for everyone else's good. They are skilled in the arts of war and arcane magic and while they can be courtly and refined, they're also dangerous as fuck. Did I mention that they're actually the long-lost vanguard of an alien invasion force from beyond the stars? Yes, elves are aliens, blurring technology and magic together. They do not actually give a flying fuck about nature. They get a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Charisma, but a -2 to Dexterity.
Elves have no love for the natural world and thus cannot be Druids or Rangers. Their minds are conditioned to resist the nasty psionic shit they pull on other races all the goddamn time, and thus they're immune to sleep and charm spells. They are awfully fond of using fancy swords and bows and all Elves are proficient with them. They have a chance of detecting magic by using their ordinary senses, due to their lifelong immersion in it.
Gnomes are usually the least metal race ever, but let's look at them another way. They're basically fae, which traditionally have nothing to do with metal, but when you think of the fae as capricious bitches who do not give a fuck about mortals, their metal quotient rises dramatically. Gnomes are the most human-like of all fae races. They're even mortal. But for the most part? They do not give a fuck. You see, they don't give a fuck because they have no soul to give a fuck about. They are literally soulless, like all fae. And that is why they are so goddamn scary, even if they're your friend.
Gnomes cannot be Clerics or Paladins, because they have no fucking souls and the gods abhor that shit. This also makes them totally immune to things like demonic possession, which is a pretty rad upside to being soulless. Gnomes can communicate with all burrowing animals, which seems lame but a lot of burrowing animals are actually scary as fuck. They have the ability to cast minor illusions like all fae beings. They have some ridiculous hate-on for goblins and kobolds and will just up and kill those motherfuckers if they see them. They get a +1 bonus to attack them. Gnomes can straight-up see in the dark and gain a +2 to saving throws against any kind of illusion because they use them all the goddamn time. They get a +2 bonus to Constitution and Intelligence but a -2 to Strength.
Halflings are not fat, content rural folk but have actually spent most of their history as slaves in the countryside and an urban underclass. In the cities, they run awesomely badass mafia organizations. In the countryside, they are guerillas and revolutionaries as often as not. Those hobbit holes? They're tunnels and they can pop up from fucking anywhere to put an arrow in your goddamn eyeball. So yeah. Go ahead and pick on the little dude. Maybe he won't kill you in your sleep.
Halflings can be any class, but are usually Thieves or Assassins if urban, Rangers or Druids if rural. They are ridiculously good at sneaking around and being silent, so they can kill you without you even knowing they're there. They have incredibly sensitive ears and can see in twilight like it was daylight. Halflings are not only proficient with missile weapons, but all get a +1 bonus to use them. They also have this weird luck thing going on, which gives them a +1 bonus to all saving throws, ever. They get a +2 bonus to Dexterity and Wisdom, but a -2 to Strength.
Humans are whatever you make of them and admittedly, most humans are not all that impressive, being dirty, diseased peasants or underpaid city folk. But some humans manage to rise above the herd and mark themselves out by their epic, bloody conquests and heroic accomplishments. Driven by an unusually short lifespan, they accomplish as much in a few mere decades as many other races would in the same number of centuries. Humans are marked by a primal urge to expand and conquer.
Humans can be any player class. Once per day a human character can reroll any fucking roll they want, because they are just that driven. Human characters also receive a free boon decided between the Metal Lord and the players, roughly equivalent to one of those feats in 3/3.5 D&D or the Pathfinder RPG. They get a +2 bonus to any one attribute they goddamn want.
Half-Elves happen when a human fucks an elf, or vice versa. One could write a lot about their intercultural angst, but instead we will talk about how they are all somehow, oddly, more attractive than either humans or elves on their own and how they can either choose to follow the path of jaded, cynical lords of magic or driven, ambitious motherfuckers on the make. Either way, they will be pretty goddamn metal.
The thing about Half-Elves is that they are not just pretty, but tend to be natural leaders, having their foot in both cultures, they tend to have a pretty sharp grasp of psychology. They can be any class they please. Half-Elves get a +2 bonus to any efforts to negotiate with or lie to anyone. Like an elf, they can see in twilight conditions, though they cannot detect magical objects with their eyeballs. They get a +2 to any attribute they please. They can choose one of the other racial abilities of an elf.
Half-Orcs need little explanation but what you need to know is that it is difficult to imagine any creature being more metal than a fucking half-orc. Combining the brutal power of a motherfucking orc with the intelligence and ambition of a human? You might as well tattoo "FUTURE WARLORD" on the forehead of every half-orc, because you know if that fucker survives to adulthood, that is exactly what he or she is going to be. Well not exactly, but they're pretty damn good at it.
Half-Orcs can be any class, though it's rare to see them be Mages, Monks or Paladins, due ot the uncompromising moral and disciplinary demands of those positions. Half-Orcs get a +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution, but take a -2 penalty to Charisma. They can see in the dark like an orc can, and they gain a +3 bonus against fear and poison, and also the same bonus to try and scare the living shit out of someone. They are straight-up immune to all non-magical diseases and inflict +1 damage when fighting unarmed.
Dwarves need no fucking help but be made metal, because seriously, what is more metal than a fucking Dwarf? Nothing. That's what. The Dwarves have been forced to become so fucking metal, because if they weren't, they'd be extinct, because their mountain homes are perilously close to all sorts of horrible monsters. If you are an adult Dwarf, you are fighting or you are provisioning the troops. Most Dwarves do both.
Dwarves cannot be Mages or Witches, because they believe arcane magic is fucked and evil, a tool of the demons to warp and destroy mortals. They're so goddamn certain of this that they get a +3 bonus against magic. They're also tough as shit and basically fucking fearless, so they get that same bonus against fear and poison. Dwarves all learn how to use axes and hammers and are universally proficient in them. They can straight-up see in absolute darkness and know exactly how far they are underground and in which direction they are going. They can sense all sorts of shit dealing with stonework and being underground, like unstable architecture, traps, secret doors, etc. They hate all goblinoid and giant-type monsters so fucking much they get a +1 bonus to attack against them. They get a +2 bonus to Constitution and Wisdom, but a -2 to Dexterity.
Elves are usually thought of as being sort of willowy hippies. Not here. What the Elves are is an immeasurably ancient and arrogant race which once ruled the world and firmly believe they should continue doing so, for everyone else's good. They are skilled in the arts of war and arcane magic and while they can be courtly and refined, they're also dangerous as fuck. Did I mention that they're actually the long-lost vanguard of an alien invasion force from beyond the stars? Yes, elves are aliens, blurring technology and magic together. They do not actually give a flying fuck about nature. They get a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Charisma, but a -2 to Dexterity.
Elves have no love for the natural world and thus cannot be Druids or Rangers. Their minds are conditioned to resist the nasty psionic shit they pull on other races all the goddamn time, and thus they're immune to sleep and charm spells. They are awfully fond of using fancy swords and bows and all Elves are proficient with them. They have a chance of detecting magic by using their ordinary senses, due to their lifelong immersion in it.
Gnomes are usually the least metal race ever, but let's look at them another way. They're basically fae, which traditionally have nothing to do with metal, but when you think of the fae as capricious bitches who do not give a fuck about mortals, their metal quotient rises dramatically. Gnomes are the most human-like of all fae races. They're even mortal. But for the most part? They do not give a fuck. You see, they don't give a fuck because they have no soul to give a fuck about. They are literally soulless, like all fae. And that is why they are so goddamn scary, even if they're your friend.
Gnomes cannot be Clerics or Paladins, because they have no fucking souls and the gods abhor that shit. This also makes them totally immune to things like demonic possession, which is a pretty rad upside to being soulless. Gnomes can communicate with all burrowing animals, which seems lame but a lot of burrowing animals are actually scary as fuck. They have the ability to cast minor illusions like all fae beings. They have some ridiculous hate-on for goblins and kobolds and will just up and kill those motherfuckers if they see them. They get a +1 bonus to attack them. Gnomes can straight-up see in the dark and gain a +2 to saving throws against any kind of illusion because they use them all the goddamn time. They get a +2 bonus to Constitution and Intelligence but a -2 to Strength.
Halflings are not fat, content rural folk but have actually spent most of their history as slaves in the countryside and an urban underclass. In the cities, they run awesomely badass mafia organizations. In the countryside, they are guerillas and revolutionaries as often as not. Those hobbit holes? They're tunnels and they can pop up from fucking anywhere to put an arrow in your goddamn eyeball. So yeah. Go ahead and pick on the little dude. Maybe he won't kill you in your sleep.
Halflings can be any class, but are usually Thieves or Assassins if urban, Rangers or Druids if rural. They are ridiculously good at sneaking around and being silent, so they can kill you without you even knowing they're there. They have incredibly sensitive ears and can see in twilight like it was daylight. Halflings are not only proficient with missile weapons, but all get a +1 bonus to use them. They also have this weird luck thing going on, which gives them a +1 bonus to all saving throws, ever. They get a +2 bonus to Dexterity and Wisdom, but a -2 to Strength.
Metal & Monsters: The Most Totally Awesome RPG Blog Ever
Metal & Monsters:
What is Metal & Monsters? It is an effort to make a pretty fucking awesome fantasy RPG blog and resource, in a mold which I wouldn't call definitively either old-school or new-school or whatever, but one that can basically be picked up and played without a lot of fuss. It is intended to be something you can basically plug into your game as needed.
It is also intended to be, as the name implies, totally fucking metal.
What does it mean to be metal? It means that there is going to be way more emphasis on awesome adventures than stuff like character angst or setting fluff. Your job is to be an awesome adventurer who slays monsters, steals treasure and has kickass adventures in strange and dangerous places- and then goes and blows all their money in epic afterparties back in town. One could have urban adventures in a metal world as well, but they have to be totally metal cities, filled with bizarre architecture, improbable monsters and evil death cults.
This isn't intended to be taken "seriously". It's intended to be awesome, and for you to have fun being awesome.
No game system can guarantee that you will be totally fucking awesome, but Metal & Monsters will do its best to help you do just that, whatever system you might use. Note that this does not mean you will be invulnerable or that you won't be challenged- characters in 4th ed belong to shiny comic books, not gritty pulp novels or metal album covers. You are not a superhero. You may very well die, but you will die awesomely. That orc won't just hit you with an axe and inflict 8 damage, it will fucking split your skull in two and then eat your brains because it believes that it will gain your metal-ness by doing so. Note that you may very well decide to do the same goddamn thing to that orc.
A metal game is a game where you can totally eat a demon's heart and still be one of the good guys. This is not the sort of game where you angst over killing a goblin because they're humanoid too. You can pretty much assume that most everything out there is out to fucking kill you, eat you and offer up your immortal soul to its demon-god. Good thing you're going to kill them first.
In all seriousness though, most of the rules in the game will be useable in a more generic and less totally metal game as well. That's okay, too.
What is Metal & Monsters? It is an effort to make a pretty fucking awesome fantasy RPG blog and resource, in a mold which I wouldn't call definitively either old-school or new-school or whatever, but one that can basically be picked up and played without a lot of fuss. It is intended to be something you can basically plug into your game as needed.
It is also intended to be, as the name implies, totally fucking metal.
What does it mean to be metal? It means that there is going to be way more emphasis on awesome adventures than stuff like character angst or setting fluff. Your job is to be an awesome adventurer who slays monsters, steals treasure and has kickass adventures in strange and dangerous places- and then goes and blows all their money in epic afterparties back in town. One could have urban adventures in a metal world as well, but they have to be totally metal cities, filled with bizarre architecture, improbable monsters and evil death cults.
This isn't intended to be taken "seriously". It's intended to be awesome, and for you to have fun being awesome.
No game system can guarantee that you will be totally fucking awesome, but Metal & Monsters will do its best to help you do just that, whatever system you might use. Note that this does not mean you will be invulnerable or that you won't be challenged- characters in 4th ed belong to shiny comic books, not gritty pulp novels or metal album covers. You are not a superhero. You may very well die, but you will die awesomely. That orc won't just hit you with an axe and inflict 8 damage, it will fucking split your skull in two and then eat your brains because it believes that it will gain your metal-ness by doing so. Note that you may very well decide to do the same goddamn thing to that orc.
A metal game is a game where you can totally eat a demon's heart and still be one of the good guys. This is not the sort of game where you angst over killing a goblin because they're humanoid too. You can pretty much assume that most everything out there is out to fucking kill you, eat you and offer up your immortal soul to its demon-god. Good thing you're going to kill them first.
In all seriousness though, most of the rules in the game will be useable in a more generic and less totally metal game as well. That's okay, too.
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